the Snakehole Lounge to close his tab, where he meets the bartender, Lucy (Natalie Morales), who makes fun of his efforts to pick up women. The two get along and Lucy gives Tom her phone number, to his immense pleasure. Leslie decides to apologize to Ben, and he invites her out for a beer. As they finally start to get along, Leslie realizes Ben was the mayor of a small town called Partridge, Minnesota. It was national news because he was only 18 when elected, and he promptly drove the entire government into the ground. Ben became a state auditor to prove he can be responsible and restart his political career. Later, at the parks department budget meeting, Chris and Ben reveal Pawnee's budget crisis was far worse than previously thought and that the Pawnee government will shut down until further notice, horrifying Leslie and delighting Ron. Production Writing "The Master Plan" was written by Parks and Recreation co-creator, Michael Schur. It was his fifth writing credit for the series after, "Pilot", "Greg Pikitis", "Christmas Scandal", and "Galentine's Day". The idea of state auditors visiting Pawnee, and the subsequent government shutdown, was inspired by news reports at the time of a number of states considering shutting down schools, parks and other services due to the global recession. In particular, Schur cited stories about Kansas City closing down several of their public schools, and Idaho threatening to shut down the state parks department. Similar measures were being discussed in such states as New York, New Jersey and California. This was in keeping with efforts by the Parks and Recreation writers to be more topical with second season episodes. Upon learning of the spending freeze, Ron and Leslie engage in heated arguments over the function of government, with Leslie insisting the government is meant to provide social services and Ron advocating as little government intervention as possible. Throughout most of the second season, much of the relationship between Leslie and Ron focused on the two developing a mutual respect for each other. However, with the introduction of the Ben Wyatt character and the conflict over budget problems in Pawnee, the writers included these arguments between Leslie and Ron to illustrate their conflicting political ideologies and develop tension amid the character and the city hall setting. "The Master Plan" marked the end of the romantic relationship between Mark and Ann, which had lasted